When it comes to improving your health, losing weight, or healing your body, willpower alone isn’t enough.
Sure it can get you started, but willpower can only take you so far. When it runs out, you’ll likely revert back to old habits, backslide in progress, and feel frustrated or stuck.
I recently listened to Mel Robbins on a podcast with Lewis Howes, and she made a powerful point: you can’t out-will something if you don’t have the skills to do it. Forcing your way through a challenge without the necessary tools wastes energy. But when you have the right skills, everything becomes easier. You retain your power while completing tasks with far less effort.
Trying to control what you have no control over creates tension—and as we discussed last week, where you have tension, you have a dysregulated nervous system.
Skill vs. Will
Think about it: if you walked outside right now and tried to run a six-minute mile, could you do it? If I’m honest, I might be able to force myself through sheer will, but it would probably feel like the end of me.
However, if I trained for it—building endurance, perfecting my stride, maximizing my breathing, wearing the right shoes—I’d get stronger, faster, and more efficient. With the right skills, I wouldn’t just run the mile; I’d do it well.
Willpower still matters—you need discipline to train, rest, and stay consistent—but the more you develop your skills, the less you rely on sheer force.
The Same Goes for Weight Loss and Healing
If you try to control your weight through willpower alone, you restrict, over-exercise, count every calorie, and obsess over the scale. You white-knuckle your way through diet after diet, but it’s unsustainable. Eventually, your body’s needs take over, leading to overeating, weight regain, and feelings of failure.
You might think it was a lack of willpower, but the real issue is that you were working against your body, not with it.
Your metabolism isn’t a simple math equation—it’s a complex biological system with many factors determining what you need to thrive. Understanding how that system works is the key to sustainable weight loss, metabolic health, and healing.
The Skills You Need for Long-Term Success
1. Awareness
Building a strong mind-body connection helps you tune into your body’s needs. Awareness allows you to recognize eating habits, emotional triggers, self-sabotaging behaviors, and excuses.
Awareness allows you the opportunity to change.
2. Understanding Your Body
How to manage blood sugar for fat burning, energy, and metabolism.
What, how much, and when to eat for optimal health.
How your nervous system affects weight loss and healing—and what makes your body feel safe.
How to get to the root cause of gut, thyroid, and hormone issues. Your body is a connected system, not independent parts, and symptoms often signal deeper issues.
Why mindset, movement, diet, sleep, and stress are critical to metabolic health.
3. Daily Action
Mastering these skills equips you to heal your body and optimize your metabolism. Creating daily habits around mindset, movement, diet, sleep, and stress will help regulate your nervous system and build a strong foundation for health.
Here are a few essential habits:
✔️ Meditation
✔️ Breathwork
✔️ Journaling
✔️ Walking & movement
✔️ Strength training
✔️ Managing blood sugar
✔️ Eating balanced PHFC (protein, healthy fats, fiber, carbs) meals
✔️ Replenishing minerals
✔️ Prioritizing quality sleep
These simple yet powerful habits are the foundation of a strong metabolism, a healthy mind, and a thriving body. Instead of relying on willpower alone, make your life easier—develop the skills that will not only get you to your goals but help you maintain and surpass them.
If you’re ready to start taking simple steps to optimize your metabolism and improve your health, check out Mind Your Metabolism, my signature 6-week program. It’s perfect for the mentally & metabolically burnt out who are ready to do things differently, own their mindset, heal from the inside out, and feel really good again.